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Eli Ruiz | Democrat

Barry Lewis, of Woodbourne, wins the annual Rails to Trails in Mountaindale, with a time of 23:54.

Rails to Trails sails in Mountaindale

Story by Eli Ruiz
MOUNTAINDALE  July 23, 2013  A cool yet sun-drenched Sunday morning provided the perfect backdrop for the approximately 100 participants in the 4th Annual Rails to Trails 4-Mile Run/2-Mile Walk in Mountaindale. The turnout nearly doubled last year’s participation level.
Runners from all over Sullivan County, and as far away as Philadelphia, assembled at the Mountaindale Firehouse for the 8:30 a.m. gun, signaling the start of the mildly challenging circuit; a mostly tree-lined, shady route that follows the path of the old Ontario & Western Railway (O&R) that long ago distributed coal downstate and north to the Port of Oswego on Lake Ontario, and to points west. Passenger service on the O&W assisted in the growth of the then nascent resort industry in Sullivan County as well as in the lower Catskills.
Back in 2010, several groups, including the Town of Fallsburg, the Woodridge Kiwanis, the Mountaindale Community Development Project (MCDP), the Mountaindale Action Committee (MAC) and the Sullivan Striders running club took a $5,000 Sullivan Renaissance grant, and under the leadership of former Fallsburg Code Enforcement Officer Allen Frishman, began the transformation of the abandoned railway into the charming, scenic and much-used hiking, running and biking trail that today stretches nearly five miles between Mountaindale and the Neversink River.
Fittingly, and for the first time since spearheading the trail's creation, Frishman was actually able to participate in Sunday's event. "After helping organize the thing every year, I figured it was about time I participated in it," offered Frishman, who finished the course in a respectable 28:37.02  good for fifth place amongst walkers. Barry Lewis, of Mountaindale, was the fastest walker in 23:54.04.
The top two finishers in the 4-mile run division mirrored last year's two top finishers: First was Raymond Revell of Wurtsboro in 24:16.09, not quite as fast as his 23:44.03 finish last year. Crossing second was John Sellstrom of Liberty with a time of 25:28.04, just seconds ahead of his brother Eric, who finished in 25:31.01.
A first for the Rails to Trails run, this year's event was tied-into the Hudson Valley Grand Prix race series, with nearly four dozen participants bolstering the field and vying for points in the series Sunday.
"It's the first year we're doing this and I think it's a wonderful thing, “ said Rails to Trails Race Director Maryann Manza. “Not just for the [Hudson Valley Grand Prix] series participants, but for this race's competitiveness as well."
Having raised more than $2,000 last year, as of press time this year's race proceeds hadn't yet been announced, but Manza said, "whatever the proceeds are from this year’s run, most of it will go back into maintaining the trail with a percentage also going toward our sponsor, the Sullivan Striders."
With friendly competition the order of the day, long-distance couple Pat Ramos of Woodbourne and Daria Petraglia of Philadelphia had something else on their minds Sunday  being together. Having met Ramos back in 2010 through the local running scene, Petraglia explained, "I was up visiting my parents who live in Goshen back in 2010 and he [Ramos] was timing a local race that I was just hanging out at. He started talking to me and I offered to help him time the race. We ended up running the Orange Classic together that year, and now we run all the races we can together  this [running] is our connection."
For complete race results please go to www.eagletiming.com.